[Image] It's been cold. Not the coldest it's ever been, but it's been a long three weeks without getting above freezing. Some mornings are gorgeous, with frost coating everything, and I've tried to take photos a couple times. Last year I think I wore my puffy pink jacket that goes down to some ridiculous temperature rating only once or twice. This year, it's the coat I wear all the time, and I'm so glad I have it. 
This weekend the cold temperatures nearly froze our water pipes, even though our house is heated with hot-water pipes that run under the house and through the radiators. I absentmindedly turned off our pencil stream of water one afternoon at 3 pm. Half an hour later, I remembered to turn it back on. Nothing came out of the faucet. Do you know what it feels like when you turn on the faucet and nothing comes out? It's certainly not a good feeling. And I might have muttered something under my breath that wasn't fit for young ears. Fortunately, the water eventually started running again. We had one other little forgetful episode, but that was also happily resolved. Whew. I'm so ready for warmer weather, and today we finally got above freezing for a couple hours. I don't think I've ever been so happy to see mud.
[Image] The weekend was full of fun activities, including a birthday party for Andie Mae. The kids had fun playing, and we came up with some good balloon games. The best part was the little girls giggling. Oh my goodness, the cuteness factor went off the chart!
We went to a couple other events, which I hopefully will blog about soon. It seems that some days just don't hold enough hours! I haven't slept well the past couple nights, I think because of cold medicine I've been taking, and then the hours creep by.  Hopefully my internal clock will get settled soon.
[Image]  We had some good laughs this weekend. I had to run and get the camera when Desert Boy came out dressed like this. I think he's the Train Conductor Superhero. Sensing no danger, he didn't stay long, so I didn't have much chance to question him.

[Image] In an effort to find some warmer weather (and some exercise!), we headed up the mountain, where it's been consistently ten degrees warmer. Sure enough, we found melting snow and even little sprouts around the new mud puddles! Desert Girl made sure she pointed out every patch of mud to me. And every little pellet of rabbit scat. And every rabbit track. Ava showed me all sorts of juniper berries. They all were very happy for the snack breaks, which occurred at every bench. We took advantage of the breaks to look at the birds: a western scrub-jay, Clark's nutcrackers, common ravens. Then I heard a familiar sound and taught the kids to "pish" for mountain chickadees. We were successful, luring one closer to our location by our alluring sound. I think they enjoyed being outside, except for the snow in the boots and cold feet.

Well, now it's time to dive into the week. How was your weekend?